Dobra-Chanthi bridge to be opened for traffic by March 2020

The 14-year wait of the people of Pratapnagar in Tehri district is finally nearing its end. The much awaited Dobra-Chanthi bridge linking New Tehri with Pratapnagar is nearing completion. This 440 metre long bridge will be India’s longest motorable single-lane suspension bridge.

Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said, “The Dobra-Chanthi bridge is quite important for the people of Pratapnagar and Thauldhar. Funds were released in lump sum for the construction of this bridge and engineers were instructed to ensure its completion on time. It will be opened for traffic soon.”

According to official sources, the work of linking the surface of this bridge has been completed. After the fixing of railings and coating, the authorities will secure the road safety no objection certificate. After the NOC is received, this bridge will be opened to the public by March next year.

According to the government, the Dobra-Chanthi bridge is a proof of how works pending for years can be completed with commitment and will power of the political leadership. Considering the woes of Pratapnagar residents and the importance of this bridge, the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had accorded top priority to the completion of this project. The State government released budget in lump sum to expedite the work. On the chief minister’s dashboard, the Dobra-Chanthi bridge is one of the main points among the performance indicators of the Public Works Department. The CM himself consistently monitored the progress in construction of this bridge.

This 440 metre long bridge will be the nation’s longest single lane motorable suspension bridge. After other organisations failed, the government got the bridge designing done by a Korean company. The cost of constructing this bridge is about Rs 150 crore. Out of the total 440 metre span of the bridge, the work of laying deck has been completed on 250 metre length while work is underway on the remaining length. It will be opened for traffic by March 2020.

It is pertinent to mention here that the construction of this bridge has been going on since 2006 to link the Tehri dam affected Pratapnagar and Thauldhar areas. The bridges linking Pratapnagar were submerged in the Tehri dam reservoir which led to inconvenience to the locals travelling to and from New Tehri, Dehradun and Rishikesh.

Completion of the construction of this bridge across the Tehri dam reservoir will benefit more than three lakh people who will not have to cover an additional 100 kilometres to reach the district headquarters. The tourists visiting New Tehri will also be able to visit Pratapnagar. Improvement in connection is also expected to improve the local economy.

PWD superintending engineer looking after the bridge construction, Shiv Kumar Rai said that 440 metre long railings are to be fixed on both sides of the bridge. The railings will then have to be coated. The temperature needs to be a bit hot for this work. Further, the road safety NOC is also required. So after due process, the bridge will be opened for traffic by March next year.